Efficiency: Core 2 Nukes Atom On The Desktop

Features
By Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos
published

Test Setup and Benchmarks

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CPU IIntel Atom 230 (45 nm, 1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
CPU IIIntel Core 2 Duo E7200 (45 nm, 2.533 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache)
Intel Atom Chipset : 945GECS 945GCT-D, Rev. 1.0
Row 3 - Cell 0 Intel 945G Chipset, BIOS : 080013
Intel Core 2 Chipset : G31Foxconn G31MG-S, Rev. 1.0
Row 5 - Cell 0 Intel G31 Chipset, BIOS : April 29, 2008
RAM1x 2 GB DDR2-1066 Crucial CT25664AA1067 operated at DDR2-800 (Core 2) and DDR2-533 (Atom)
HDDSeagate Barracuda 7200.11, 500 GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 7,200 RPM, SATA/300, 32 MB cache
Blu-Ray DriveLG GGW-H20L
Graphicsintegrated 945G and G31 graphics
Power SuppliesFortron FSP220-60LE, 220 W
Row 12 - Cell 0 Etasis EFN-300, 300 W
Row 13 - Cell 0 Coolermaster, ATX 2.3, 850 W
Row 14 - Cell 0 OCZ Elite Xstream 1000, 1000 W

Please note that we only used a single DDR2 DIMM that ran at DDR2-533 speed with the Atom system and at DDR2-800 for the G31 motherboard. This was the only measure we took to bring the Core 2 Duo’s power consumption from 31 W to only 29 W, which was hence closer to the Atom system’s 28 W. This step makes little sense if you take a performance approach, as the memory bandwidth decreases. But it makes sense considering that many desktop Atom systems don’t even have a second DIMM socket to install more than one memory module.

Further power requirement reductions for our Core 2 Duo E7200 and G31 combo can probably be achieved by optimizing CPU voltage, which would involve “under-voltaging” the processor on suitable motherboards.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP SP2
DirectX 9 Version : April 2007
Intel Chipset INF : 9.0.0.1008
Java Java Runtime Environment 6.0 Update 1

Benchmarks and Settings

Swipe to scroll horizontally
BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion : 7.7.0.43 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC
Lame MP3Version 3.98 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min wave to mp3 160 Kbps
Swipe to scroll horizontally
BenchmarkDetails
Winrar 3.80Version 3.70 BETA 8 WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096 KB Benchmark : THG-Workload
Winzip 11Version 11.2 Compression = Best Benchmark : THG-Workload
Maxon Cinema 4D Release 10Version : 10.008 Rendering from a scene (Water drop at a Rose) Resolution : 1280 x 1024 - 8Bit (50 frames)
Sysmark 2004 SEVersion 1.04 Office Productivity
Row 4 - Cell 0 Synthetic Benchmarks and SettingsRow 4 - Cell 2
BenchmarkDetails
PCMark05Version : 1.20 PCMark Benchmark Memories Benchmark CPU Benchmark Graphics Benchmark Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos